Team Insight

May / June 2019

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T
he fascination with tackle football
in the U.S. seems to generate record
levels of interest – from an atten-
dance and viewership perspective
-- every year from a fan base that
can best be described as avid and,
at times, animated. Yes, Americans love their
football and their passion for the pigskin, er
cowhide, starts as soon as children put on a
helmet or attach those flags to the belt around
their waist.
Yet it is no secret the participation in foot-
ball at the youth level is struggling, as safety
concerns are prompting many parents to ques-
tion whether their children should be donning
pads and a helmet before they reach their teens.
In fact, according to a recent study by the
Seattle Children's Research Institute, 63 percent
of parents support age restrictions for tackle
football, while the majority of mothers (63
percent) and fathers (58 percent) are in favor
of setting a starting age for their children to
begin playing tackle football.
"The goal of restricting tackling to older
youth would be to decrease the risk of injury,
by decreasing exposure to collisions until youth
are older and more adept at controlling their
bodies in space," says lead study author Dr.
Sara Chrisman.
Does this mean that football is a becoming a
sport that everybody likes to watch, but very
few want to play? Far from it, but the sport in
the future may look markedly different than
the game today's adults grew up playing in
their youth.
In the Trenches Year-Round
Although played primarily in the fall in
America, football has almost always been a
year-round sport for team dealers. Soon after
the final whistle blows each fall, head football
coaches start thinking and planning for the next
season — checking the wear and tear on pads,
reconditioning helmets and designing uniforms.
In warm-weather climates such as Florida,
football coaches are always in the game —
whether it's the pre-, regular, post-, off- or
spring season.
"Head coaches in Florida are in touch with
me immediately after every season finishes as
they start making purchasing decisions for the
next season," explains Joel Dunn, sales rep for
Performance Team Sports, Miami, FL. "The
schools that order custom jerseys make their
purchasing decisions in January and February.
Schools that delay uniform-buying decisions
are limited to stock."
Dunn's football business in January and
February is not limited to selling uniforms.
"We're also busy with getting helmets re-con-
ditioned," he adds.
As Dunn looks forward to the kickoff of the
2019 football season in August, he's optimistic
that football will continue to lead the way.
"While football has been under attack in
recent years, it's still king," Dunn says.
In Pennsylvania, where football is close to a
religion in some regions, the football business
is solid, but admittedly not as strong as it has
been in the past.
"Football used to be a bigger part of my busi-
ness," reports Tom McCormack, owner of C&M
Sporting Goods, Havertown, PA. He points to a
number of factors: teams buying direct from the
manufacturers, concerns about concussions,
the financial cost and young athletes increas-
ingly playing one sport year-round rather than
two or three different sports.
"Many leagues, teams and organizations are
buying direct for some of their bigger items
such as uniforms, helmets and shoulder pads,
which has hurt my business," McCormack
says, adding that many parents, after watching
16 Team Insight ~ May/June 2019
NEW GAME PLAN
Youth football in America is changing with the times — and team dealers are changing along with it.
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